The Price of a Heart
by jemisard
Summary: What price do you place on love? Mild shounenai, yaoi, cross over with FF7 Cidcentric.


"Why do you do it?"

Cid looked up at the sudden noise. Sora stood nearby; his hip jutted, the Keyblade clutched loosely in one hand.

"Why do I do what, kid?"

The teenager looked impatient, tapping his foot on the pavement and glancing to his companions. "Why do you help me so much?"

"Thought Leon told you why. Our world died 'cause of the Heartless, they'll take everything given half a chance." He dug in the pockets of his pants for the packet of pocky he had taken to chewing on in place of his beloved cigarettes.

"Yeah, but every world could die, and people still keep charging me a fortune for everything. Except you. Why are you being so nice? It's not like I managed to help your world."

Cid rolled his eyes. "Don't do that, kid. It ain't your fault, it just happened. We were just the first in line, and that was Ansem's fault. And yeah, other worlds have been lost, but that ain't your fault either. You saved a lot of places."

Sora stamped his foot. "Cid! You're being evasive. I bet you wouldn't do it if Kairi were here, because she's a lady."

The man gave a throaty laugh and rubbed his hair. "I met your lady friend. She's a nice girl." He gave up looking for his pocky. "After this, maybe the two of you could find a nice world and settle down."

Sora pulled a face that made Cid laugh. "No, I don't wanna do all that mushy stuff. I just wanted her to be safe, and now Leon and Yuffie will keep an eye on her and I can worry about Riku."

The darkness shone in those big blue eyes for a moment. Cid shivered and touched the boy's arm. "Hey, we'll find you a way back to Hollow Bastion, I promise. You can go and beat Ansem and get Riku back from him."

"Can I, Cid?" He sat down, gazing up at the older man. "What if he's gone?"

"Hey, never think that. He defended you from Ansem, he's still there, he just needs you to come and get him." Cid sat down and heard his pocky crunch. He grimaced and pulled the pack from his back pocket, popping one his mouth. He offered it to Sora, who shook his head and looked away.

"Hey, kid. You'll get him back." He looked at Sora. "You love him, don't you?"

"Yeah, he's, he's my oldest friend, I don't know what to do without him." Sora looked down. "I can't stop worrying about him. And, what if we beat Ansem and... Riku's gone? Just a heartless body? I couldn't take that." He shook his head, and there was a deeply comprehended fear that no child should have in those eyes. "I don't know if I could live if he was just a shell."

"You do." Cid muttered.

Sora turned to Cid. "What?"

"I said you do. You live with it and keep on hoping that somewhere, there's going to be an answer to bringing them back. You keep going and do what you can to help it."

Sora stared at Cid. He had never seen the normally cheerful mechanic looking so down. "What happened, Cid?"

Cid was silent for long moments, staring at his feet. "Come on, I'll show you. Leave the zoo behind though."

Sora glared at the term but followed quietly as they snuck away from his teammates.

0

Cid took him to the Accessory shop, leading him behind the fireplace to a hidden passage. Sora followed quietly, eyes wide with a touch of worry as the descended into the dark depths.

There was a large door ahead. Cid turned to Sora and nodded. "Well, do your thing."

Sora swallowed and stepped forwards, tapping the lock softly. It clicked and swung open.

Inside was warmly lit by moogle candles. A large bed was the only thing in the room aside from the illumination, drapes obscuring the form inside.

Cid went over and pulled aside some of the cloth. "Sora, meet Vincent. He's from my world."

Sora stepped forwards and looked at the man on the bed. He had long black hair; swept to one side and brushed; and pale skin.

Most distinctly, the large red eyes were open and vacant, staring ahead blindly.

"Who is he?"

"Vincent. My partner. We ran our shipping business together. The others don't know he's here." Cid sat on the side of the bed, stroking the dark hair softly. "He was hit a blast of shadow when our town was swallowed. His body remained but... he was like this. Vacant. He twitches sometimes, but he's never come back."

"Why wasn't he wiped away, like the others? I mean, Kairi's some kind of princess, so she's different, but Vincent..." he trailed off, not able to take the mournful gaze that shone from Cid's eyes.

"Vincent isn't alone. Like Riku, he's possessed. His other selves are held back by the bracelets on his wrists. The crazy wizard made them some time back, they keep the other parts of him down."

Vincent blinked slowly, his hand twitching. Cid watched for a moment, Sora found himself drawn into the expectant silence.

Nothing followed.

"It's stupid, but every time, I hope he might wake up." Cid brushed a hand through his hair again. "So, even if Riku is gone, you'll keep loving him just the same, and you'll look after him. Because you can't do anything else. But maybe, when you defeat Ansem, all the hearts he's been hoarding will be released again. Maybe scattered through out worlds, maybe not, I dunno, but I think Vincent's heart is still out there. And I know that Riku's is. His heart gave him the power to defend you."

Sora watched for a few more moments as Cid held Vincent's still hand, fingers idly stroking around the heavy gold bands. It was so hard to see the pain that love was bringing to Cid.

The man stood up and turned to Sora, smiling sadly. "Well, are you still determined to go on?"

"Yes. Cid?"

"What is it, kid?"

"Do you ever regret the pain it brings you to love?"

Cid grinned and laughed, and Sora realised that whatever pain was there was swallowed by the care he still felt.

Sora smiled back and they walked back to the light.


End file.
